The story
Chicken tikka masala is usually credited to Glasgow. Ali Ahmed Aslam, who ran the Shish Mahal restaurant in the city's West End, said that around 1971 a customer complained his chicken tikka was too dry. Aslam improvised a mild, creamy tomato sauce with spices, reportedly starting from a tin of tomato soup, and the dish spread through Britain's curry houses. Rival claims include another Glasgow restaurateur who said he made it in the 1950s, and Indian chefs who see it as a cousin of butter chicken. In 2001 Britain's foreign secretary called it a true British national dish.
Rival claims
Disputed: another Glasgow restaurateur, Sultan Ahmed Ansari of the Taj Mahal, said he made it in the 1950s; others credit Bangladeshi chefs in 1960s Britain generally, and Indian critics see it as a variant of Punjabi butter chicken. A London restaurateur has said the tomato-soup detail was invented to amuse journalists. Glasgow remains the most widely cited birthplace.
Also known as CTM, tikka masala, chicken tikka masala curry.
On the Meridish menu
Chicken tikka masala was the main course on menu No. 2 on October 2, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
A curry house here says it invented this in 1971, adding a tomato-cream sauce for a customer who found his chicken too dry.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- news.stv.tv/?p=280092
- thequint.com/amp/story/south-asians/ali-ahmed-aslam-dies-at-77-shish-mahal-glasgow-chicken-tikka-masala-south-asian-cuisine-in-uk-britain
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
